MANILA, Philippines—Labor officials in Riyadh and Jeddah have started to accept applications for accreditation from Saudi Arabian employment agencies that want to recruit Filipino household service workers (HSWs), according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

“The accreditation is meant to ensure that only licensed Saudi Arabian recruitment or placement agencies shall be allowed in the recruitment process,” Baldoz said in a statement.

“Only Saudi recruitment agencies duly licensed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor and registered as a business enterprise by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall be allowed to participate in the recruitment of HSWs,” she added.

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In an earlier interview, Baldoz said the government approved the deployment of domestic workers after the Philippines and Saudi Arabia agreed on a system to monitor compliance with a new minimum wage and better conditions and protection for Filipino workers.

“The new accreditation system, contract verification as well as the banking system that would monitor the imposition of the US$400 monthly salary, have already been set up,” Baldoz said.